One of the best decisions I have ever made was to get into the Final Expense Sales Market.

On a daily basis, we speak with both licensed insurance agents and unlicensed people interested in final expense life insurance sales, and it’s apparent that everyone has their own opinion on the final expense market. It’s interesting how so many people, clients, and agents alike have no idea about the differences in burial plans and final expense life insurance.

Making Final Expense Sales as An Independent Agent Is Important

Agents selling final expense insurance can make a difference.

There are a lot of retired seniors that are just barely getting by on their social security income and struggle to survive. These folks are willing to figure out a way to use some of their monthly income to fund a whole life insurance policy. For them, this is a big sacrifice that can make a big difference in their family’s life. Funeral costs are expensive. In many cases, final expense insurance is the only way these folks can afford to be buried. Funerals are expensive. People are being cremated against their will and it’s discouraging. This is a terrible option for many to look forward to. It’s against a lot of basic American principles and religious beliefs. Agents selling final expense insurance can help these folks out.

Why didn’t they take care of it when they could afford to?

Things don’t always turn out the way we think they might and this is why we have insurance. Yes, many retirees have a nice pension and don’t need to worry about life insurance to fund their funerals. These folks were financially stable and were able to save for their funerals. Some are taught to take care of it while they are young. They make sacrifices early in life but not everyone lives their life like their neighbor does. Heck most of the folks have probably spoken to multiple final expense telesales agents, and passed on the insurance.

A lot of unexpected things happen in life and the next thing you know, things don’t turn out the way they were supposed to. We hear stories from clients all the time about what should have happened, and what didn’t happen. I first started hearing these stories during my final expense sales training. Just another established need for agents selling final expense insurance!

Here’s what happened just last week!

Last week I met with a gentleman who was a military retiree. He told me about how he always assumed he would have a pension. Now he barely gets enough money each month to survive. He was in the military half of his life but worked as a subcontractor on and off. What he didn’t know was that a subcontractor didn’t have the same benefits as a career military officer. He got old like the rest of us and found out the hard way. This is simply one example where things didn’t go as planned.

Sadly, we hear a lot of stories like this one from agents selling final expense insurance. People work hard their whole lives and end up having accidents where they end up disabled. Most jobs today don’t come with an automatic paycheck if you suddenly can’t work. The next thing you know, you’re on disability without a pension. Social security isn’t going to pay very much. It’s even worse if you worked in an environment where you have to live off of tips. That means the social security check will be hardly anything. With proper final expense sales training, agents selling final expense insurance can help these folks.

How can you make a difference?

A good agent can make a difference for people in this situation because every penny counts. Not only that, but you don’t want someone coming behind you to replace your sale because you’re selling overpriced products. This is something that we constantly address during our final expense sales training. It’s important to have the skills along with the work ethic and moral values in order to make a difference for our clients. Agents selling final expense insurance are extremely necessary, even though we are not always appreciated.

We want you to have access to multiple final expense leads so that you can target the final expense sales markets. By targeting the correct final expense market, you’ll be able to make more final expense sales based on the final expense direct mail leads, final expense facebook leads, or final expense telemarketed leads. With our final expense sales program, you’ll be able to do the best thing for each of your prospects and make more sales.

Selling mortgage insurance / mortgage protection leads

Final expense sales is our main business. We do have agents selling mortgage insurance that cross over to final expense. There are also agents with us that mainly work mortgage protection leads and sell mortgage protection along with final expense. Both markets are doable. You can do final expense, face to face, or final expense telesales. Selling mortgage insurance is a little more complex as it is usually done on a face to face basis.

Yes, we have the leads for mortgage protection sales. A lot of agents assume that we don’t because that’s not our specialty market. Be assured, I left the mortgage protection industry to get into final expense sales because I knew that the senior market was the future. As long as people are re-financing and purchasing new homes, we will always have the carriers, products, and direct mail leads for mortgage protection and mortgage insurance sales.

Where should you start selling final expense insurance?

Unfortunately, a lot of insurance agents get recruited by managers and companies that exaggerated things. These companies tend to recruit as many agents as possible, only to end up fighting to keep the ones that can sell. Most agents that are recruited by these companies tend to stick around for a little while before they end up hitting the road because they don’t even have access to final expense insurance leads. When they do make sales, they really don’t make enough money to justify sticking through the learning curve. Agents selling final expense insurance should be well compensated.

It’s hard to survive on a couple sales a week when you are only making a few hundred dollars per sale. I was once a captive agent and I will say that the training I received at that agency was second to none. We had to be in the office daily for ongoing training. The manager made sure we did what we were taught. This was great if you don’t mind being micro managed and want to learn at any cost. I was working very hard to make a living as a Hartford agent and was paying $30 Per Lead. My contract level was 60% so I was splitting my sales with the agency.

When all was said and done, I was only making around $50,000 a year. I definitely paid for my final expense sales training. Back then we were selling mortgage protection. We did it face to face. Just to be clear, there is a big difference between that industry and ours. Agents selling final expense insurance are selling to an entirely different clientele. We have the choice of doing final expense telesales or face to face sales. Either way, it’s nice to have lots of options for final expense insurance leads.

What’s better, being independent or captive?

Sadly, most insurance agents that go captive struggle and fail. Even if they get top quality final expense sales training! A strong work ethic is necessary when you get into a new business. The only way for you to make it is to bust your butt and do whatever it takes. This attitude and willingness for success is why a captive agency can make or break an insurance agent. No matter how you look at it, it’s up to the individual to succeed.

Anyone that has the work ethic can be a success. It doesn’t matter if you are a captive agent or if you are an independent agent. It doesn’t matter if you are doing final expense telesales or hitting it belly to belly. The nice thing about being captive is that you have a manager that you can turn to. At least that’s how it should be. As a true independent you don’t have this. Either way, it does take a different mindset to be managed vs independent for agents selling final expense insurance.

Who gets paid more?

As an independent insurance agent, contract levels are commonly around 100 to 120% and even higher for those with production proof or who have down line agents. Most captive agents are paid half of that. The difference in pay and product between independent agents and captive agents is night and day. There are several carriers that tend to be extremely overpriced. These overpriced policies are just waiting for independent agents selling final expense insurance, to stop in and make an easy replacement. One negative thing about being independent is the training. It’s just hard to get quality final expense insurance sales training on your own. This is why we have put together one of the strongest FE programs in the industry.

Final Expense Sales Training?

Feel free to check out our training page. In order to get access to our full final expense sales training program, you will need to be a contracted agent with us. You can also get plenty of training on our YouTube channel, Final Expense Trainer. We specialize in getting agents selling final expense insurance, up and running, immediately. Most of our agents do face to face final expense sales but you can also do final expense telesales. It’s completely up to you.

If you decide to join UFES, you’ll have access to our 30 day online final expense sales training platform. Our final expense sales platform is designed to get you up and running by the end of the month. You’ll also have access to our weekly, no nonsense, final expense sales training call. We go over final expense sales underwriting, different final expense leads and how to work them, along with multiple final expense sales carriers and their niches.

Need Final Expense Leads?

Yes, we have the leads. Our contracted agents have access to direct mail leads, telemarketing leads, and final expense Facebook leads. We also work with outside final expense lead vendors. By having multiple sources for leads no agent goes without leads. We also teach our agents how to generate their very own final expense Facebook leads. Facebook leads are extremely important for final expense sales as we know our market is heading in the direction of internet sales. The trick is to be able to target multiple prospects through multiple final expense insurance lead programs. Whether you’re selling face to face or doing final expense telesales, you need to have the right lead for your situation.

Happy Hunting!

Anytime I need any kind of assistance, Doug has always been there to help me close the sale. It's great working under a system that is ethical towards agents and provides more than double the commission I received at my previous company.

- Sean McMurray, Florida

When I first heard about UFES I was very well pleased with the training and the high commissions. I was so blown away by the products and services that were being offered to clients and I still am excited. Doug is 1 call away and is always helpful when called upon. Thank you again for introducing me to what it feels like to be a real insurance broker vs the captive agent that I was.

- Vernis Washington, Texas

Doug has always been a top tier producer, leading several carriers in personal production. He is also a master at being able to convey the knowledge that agents need, in order to follow in his footsteps, and be successful. UFES has done an amazing job of arranging and organizing a strong and simplified sales system, so that it’s easy to digest.

- Brad Aden, Missouri

UFES’s program is as attractive to agents as any organization that I am familiar with. Whether you’re new or experienced, I recommend them to anyone interested in final expense sales.

- Jim Boyles, Louisiana

I've been in the industry for 20 years and have tried numerous IMO's that promise leads and never deliver. That all ended when I came aboard with UFES. Been with them for a couple years now and my leads have been like clockwork, every Thursday, waiting for me in my e-mail. Anybody that knows anything about the Final Expense will tell you that leads are the heart of the business. UFES promised, and they delivered. Best decision I've made in the last 20 years.

- Ed Rice, Florida

I thought about starting a fixed priced lead order for a long time and UFES let me begin with a minimum number of leads each week. They offer top contracts, weekly training and videos for the beginners. I have been in this business 40 years so I like the fact that they don’t bother me, and if I need to speak with someone, Doug always picks up the phone.